Use of cluster bombs cleared in Israel
Earthtimes.org

JERUSALEM, Dec. 24 Israel's military judge advocate general has ruled the use of cluster bombs in the Second Lebanon War was legal.

The ruling stemmed from an investigation into the controversial use of cluster bombs by troops during the month-long war against Hezbollah in 2006, The Jerusalem Post reported Monday.

Gen. Avihai Mandelblit accepted the conclusion by Maj. Gen. Gershon Hacohen, head of the Israeli military Defense College, that in the majority of cases, the cluster bombs were used in accordance with international law.

"The use of the weaponry was legal once it was determined that (it was needed) in order to prevent rocket fire into Israel," Hacohen's statement read. "Its use was a concrete military necessity."

Hacohen's probe found that the majority of cluster bombs were dropped in open and uninhabited areas and only used in urban areas as an "immediate response" to Hezbollah guerrillas.

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